Work distributing conveyer system



y 4, 1949. r J. R. DUNN 2,470,922

v WORK DISTRIBUTING CONVEYER SYSTEM Filed Sept. 27, 1946 2 Shets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

' Q INVENTOR v v JRDUNN S By Jun-2P I a {g z ATTORNEY J. R. DUNN 2,470,922

DISTRIBUTING CONVEYER SYSTEM May 24, 1949.

WORK

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1946 lNl EN TOR JR. DUNN ATTORNEY Patented May 24, 1949 UNITED PAT ENT OF F ICE WORK, DISTRIBUTING CONVEYER SYSTEM John R. Dunn, South Groveland, Mass., assignor to Western- Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., acorporationof New York Appl cation. September 27, 1946, Serial'No. 699;732'

are assembled from materials or piece parts, oneof the important factors in production lies in the speed of supplying the material and piece parts to the work stations wherethe articles or units are to be assembled. It is usually-necessary for e the work foremanto signal the dispatcher in charge of the supplies when parts ormaterial are required at which time the dispatcher removes the requested work from an area where it isstored and sends it'by truck or other transporting means to the work area. With this system, considerable material. handling is required and the responsibility of loading the work area with the partsand material required depends largely" upon" theefficiency of the foreman and the dispatcher.

An object of the invention is to providea conveyor system which is completely automatic in' operation to deliver parts or materialfrom a supply station to anyone of a plurality of. work stations.

With this and other: objects in view, the'invention broadly compris es a main conveyor extending from a supply area throughva work area, branch conveyors leading off the mainconveyorto spaced work positions, each branch conveyor supporting a given number of articles, and a supply conveyor for each branch conveyor to receive given numbers of articles in'the supply area whereby, upon the removal of an article from any one of the branch conveyors, an article will be releasedjfrom' itsrespective supply conveyor on to the main conveyor to travel to its branch conveyor.

The branch conveyors in the work area slope" away from the main conveyor and are of given lengths to hold predetermined numbers of articles or containers thereon. A switch ismounted near the entranceencl of each branch conveyorto be operated into open position by thelast container; this switch being free to operate into closed position upon removal of the leading containerallowing remaining containers to move forwardly; A solenoid operated stop is positioned near the'exit end-of each-of the supply conveyors, each solenoid being under the controlof the switch of" its respective branch conveyor andelectrical circuits including timing units and a selector to dispatch 50" the-containers singly without interruption or disturbance by other containers on the main con-- veyor although-a plurality of the switches of the branch conveyors may be operated into closedpositions simultaneously.

Other obj ects and advantageswill be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. lis a schematic'top" plan view of the con-- veyor system;

Fig; 2- is a fragmentary detailed view of the main'conveyor and two of thebranch conveyors;

Fig. 3 is an'enlarged sectional view taken along the-line 3 -3'of Fig. 2;

'Fig'. 4 is a schematic-illustration of a portion of the conveyor system and the'automatic control circuit therefor; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of 0I1e' 0f the's'upply' conveyors illustrating the solenoid operated stop therefor.

'In' thepresent embodiment, the conveyor system includes a main conveyor HT which maybe composed of abelt continuouslydriven so tl' at" the'upper supporting surface travels in the direction of the arrow from a supply area ll through a work area l2; The supply area" maybe apart of a st'oreroom wherein articles, namely, material and parts are stored in pans or containers [4".

conveyor lil'so tliateach pangwill, when released, The

travel toward, and onto the main conveyor. circles near the exit ends of the supply conveyors and'identified by reference numerals 21' to 32:,

inclusive, represent solenoid operated stops shown in detail in'Fig. 5'. These stopsare identical in construction, therefore a description of the stop 2? shown inFig; 5 W111 apply to each of the other stops 28 to 32; inclusive. The stop 27 includes a' solenoid 35 mounted upon a brackettlijsupported bythe frame 31 of the conveyor I5; The 'co re38" of the solenoid is connected by links39." to a piston-like member w'disposed in a cylinder ll of a bracket 52. Pins 43 connecting the links 35 to the piston 40 extend through elongate apertures M in the sides of the piston or bracket. A spring 45 normally urges the piston forwardly so that a roller 46 carried by the leading end thereof will extend into the path of the pans to normally hold all of the pans on the conveyor l against movement. Energization of the solenoid 35 will move its core 38 into the position shown against the force of the spring 45 to move the roller 4'6 out of the path of the pans, the roller being capable, upon deenergization of the solenoid to ride along the adjacent side of the first pan and stop the second pan and the other pans behind it from moving on to the main conveyor.

The branch conveyors 2| to 25 inclusive, slope away from the main conveyor Ill and curve into the main conveyor as illustrated at 8. Normally closed switches 5|, 52, 53, 54, 55 and 56 are mounted in their respective branch conveyors near the entrance ends thereof and include projections 58 which normally extend above the branch conveyors and in the path of the pans It so that the switches will be operated into the open positions by the pans resting thereon.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 4 which illustrates the automatic control system. Supply lines 60 and 6| for electrical energy are provided for the automatic circuit control system. The switches 5| to 56, inclusive, only switches 5| and 53 being shown in this figure, are connected to their respective contacts of a selector segment 62. A brush or pointer contact 53 for the selector is indexed step by step continuously from contact to contact on selector segment 62 in a given direction, for example, clockwise by its winding 64. The time period of the indexing of pointer contact 63 is controlled by timer l!, the circuit for which is completed from line 85 at connection '12, through the winding 64, the timing unit l to line 6| at connection 13. When one of the switches 5| to 56, inclusive, is closed by the removal of a pan from its branch conveyor, a circuit is completed from line 65 through a time control unit 65, contact pointer 53 and its contact in the segment, when the pointer moves into engagement therewith. If switch 5| is closed the circuit will be completed through the pointer 53, line 58, switch 5|, solenoid 35 of the unit 2! to line iii.

The principal function of timing unit 65, which may be of Variable type, is to limit the time the circuits through any of the solenoid operable stops 2'! to 32, inclusive, are closed, thus controlling the number of containers hi which are allowed to leave their respective supply conveyors during each feeding operation. The function of the timing unit H is to control the time the circuit through winding 54 i closed and in turn control the indexing of pointer 53 from contact to contact. This controls the time interval between the release of pans from each supply conveyor identified by reference numbers l5 to 25, inclusive, and prevents jamming of the main belt as well as provide sufiicient time for pans released from supply conveyors Hi to 28, inclusive, to travel on the main belt Hi to their respective branch conveyors 2| to 26, inclusive, open respective switches 5| to 56, inclusive, before the pointer contact 63 has indexed to the same contact on selector segment 52. As an example, if a pan of work is released from branch conveyor 2|, switch 5| will be closed and when pointer 53 indexes to the corresponding contact the circuit through solenoid unit 21 will be closed releasing a container M from supply conveyor i5. Timer ll so controls the indexing of pointer 63 that con tainer M will travel the main belt Ill, enter branch conveyor 2|, and open switch 5| before pointer 63 has made a complete cycle and returned to the contact on segment 62 connected to switch 5| through line 58. This assures that an identical number of containers itwill be released from supply conveyor l5 as removed from branch conveyor 2|.

Timers H and 65 are connected through line iii so that timer 55 operates solenoid units 21 through 32 inclusive, only when pointer 63 is in a stationary position and in contact with individual contacts on segment 62. The detailed structures of timing units 55 and H are not shown as these timing units are commercially known structures.

During the operation of the conveyor system, the operator located in the supply area knows what parts and materials are needed at the various stations in the work area. All that he is required to do, therefore, is to keep the supply conveyors filled with containers or pans M of the necessary supplies on the conveyors l5 to 20, inclusive, for their respective work area conveyors 2| to 25, inclusive. This function is not a. part of the operation of the conveyor system. The conveyor system is completely automatic in operation, requiring no communication between persons in the work area and those in the supply area.

When the leading container M is removed from one of the conveyors in the work area, the remaining containers on that conveyor advance, releasing the associated switch for movement into closed position. As an example, let it be assumed that a container was removed from conveyor 23 and that immediately thereafter, or simultaneously therewith, a container was removed from conveyor 2|. This action will cause switches 53 and 5|, respectively, to be operated into closed positions. The circuits in which the switches are disposed are not closed upon closing of the switches, but are conditioned to be closed depending upon the function of the selector 52. During this time, the brush or pointer 83 of the selector is moving relative to the contacts for the various control circuits. The first contact of the group of circuits conditioned to be closed upon the closing of their switches in the work area, will be completed when the pointer 53 engages its respective contact in the selector. At this time, a circuit will be completed through the timing unit 55, the pointer 53, the contact for the switch 53 completing a circuit through the solenoid of the stop 28 operating the solenoid for the conveyor I6 into open position to free a given number of containers M for movement, by gravity, 01f the conveyor H5 and on to the main conveyor Ill. The interval of time this circuit remains closed depends upon the setting of the timing unit 65 for controlling the number of containers I4 allowed to pass from the supply conveyor on to the main conveyor.

As a rule, only one container is freed at one time and the switches iii to 55 on the work conveyors are positioned with respect to the entrance ends thereof to allow the given number of containers to enter the work conveyors. It may be desirable, however, to allow two or more containers to move at one time from their supply conveyors on to the main conveyor and eventually on to their respective work conveyors. In this instance, the switches 5! to 55, inclusive, will be positioned so that after their work conveyors have been filled, they will not be free to operate into closedpositions until the chosen number of containers have been removed from their conveyors.

Returning again to the suggested illustration of thesimultaneous removal of containers from the conveyors 2i and 23, it has been pointed out that the brush or pointer 63 will complete or close the first circuit whose contact it reaches in its circular travel. In the present illustration, the circuit through the switch 53 and the solenoid of the stop 28 have been completed freeing, for example, one container from the conveyor it. If only one container is to be freed, the timing unit 65 is set so that after a definite length of tim the solenoid of the stop 28 will be deenergized, freeing the spring 45 to move its roller 46 into engagement with the side of the container leaving the conveyor l6 and ride thereon until it is free to move in front of the next container to stop it and the remaining containers on the conveyor l6 against movement toward the conveyor Ill.

The circuit operating the timing unit H to close the circuit through the winding 64 is open during the operation of the first circuit and remains opened to hold the selector unoperated for a given length of time which is sufiicient, for example, for a given number of containers, all that are to be freed at one time, to pass from the supply conveyor 20 on to the main conveyor l and move beyond the supply conveyor l5. The purpose of this time controlled operation is to eliminate disturbance of containers piling up on the main conveyor or blocking of the travel of the containers, which would occur, for example, if a container should be freed from the conveyor l during the travel of a container from any of the other conveyors on the conveyor It] in the vicinity of the conveyor 15, while the container therefrom is moving on to the conveyor Ill.

After this interval of time has lapsed, the timing unit ll will operate to again complete the circuit through the winding 64 to cause movement of the brush or pointer 63 to find the next contact of the circuit which is to be closed, namely, the circuit including the switch 5|. The same series of functions takes place at this time in their respective order. In other words, when pointer 63 indexes to the corresponding contact on selector 62, timer H clears timer 65 to operate through line 10, circuit is completed through the timing unit 65, the brush 63, the switch 5! and its solenoid 35 of the stop 21. The roller 46 of the stop 2'l will be moved free of the first container on the conveyor l5, allowing the first container to pass on to the conveyor ill, the solenoid being deenergized, however, through the control of the timing unit 65 to effect stopping of the remaining containers on the conveyor l5. The timing unit H will again function at this time to keep open the circuit through the winding 64, holding th brush on the main circuit just completed, until the container from the conveyor l5 has moved on to the conveyor H]. In each instance, when the container or containers from the conveyors in the supply area have moved on to their respective branch conveyors in the work area, their switches in the branch conveyors have been opened holding these circuits against operation until the leading containers thereon have been removed.

Any conventional means may be employed to divert the containers from the main conveyor II! on to their respective branch conveyors in the work area. In other words, the containers which are disposed upon the supply conveyors have deflecting means such as pins disposed at varied positions on the leading ends of the containers'which are to be engaged by deflecting arms or other suitable means at their respective branch con-- veyors in the work area. Many controlfeatures of this type are Well known in, the art. and as this is not a part of the present invention, detailed structures thereof have not been embodied in this application.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A conveyor system for dispatching articles from a supply area to a work area, the conveyor system comprising a driven main conveyor having a conveying surface travelling from the supply area through the work area, branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the work area and positioned to receive articles from the main conveyor, supply conveyors for the branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the supply area and positioned to feed articles disposed thereon to the main conveyor, electrically operable units for each supply conveyor to release a given number of the articles for movement onto the main conveyor, an electrical circuit for each unit, a normally closed switch for each circuit disposed at its respective branch conveyor to be held open by articles on the branch and freed to close by the removal of a given number of articles from the branch conveyor, and a selector operable to render the circuits efiective in a given order.

2. A conveyor system for dispatching articles from a supply area to a work area, the conveyor system comprising a driven main conveyor having a conveying surface travelling from the supply area through the work area, branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the work area and positioned to receive articles from the main conveyor, supply conveyors for the branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the supply area and positioned to feed articles disposed thereon to the main conveyor, electrically operable units for each supply conveyor to release a given number of the articles for movement onto the main conveyor, an electrical circuit for each unit, a normally closed switch for each circuit disposed at its respective branch conveyor to be held open by articles on the branch and freed to close by the removal of a given number of articles from the branch conveyor, a selector operable to render the circuits effective in a given order, and a timing unit to hold the selector unoperated until the lapse of a given interval of time after the closing of one circuit before the next circuit may be closed.

3. A conveyor system for dispatching articles from a supply area to a work area, the conveyor system comprising a driven main conveyor traveling from the supply area through the work area, branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the work area and positioned to receive articles from the main conveyor, supply conveyors for the branch conveyors disposed at spaced positions in the supply area and positioned to feed articles disposed thereon to the main conveyor, retaining units, for the supply conveyors normally urged into the path of the articles thereon, electrically operable to release a given number of articles for movement onto the main conveyor, an electrical circuit for each unit, a normally closed switch for each circuit disposed at its respective branch con- 7 8 vyor to be held open by articles on the branch before the next circuit may be closed by the brush conveyor and freed to close by the removal of a JOHN R. DUNN. given number of articles from the branch conveyor, a selector having a, contact for each circuit REFERENCES CITED and brush operable successively into engage- The following references are of record in the ment with the contacts to render the circuits efm of this patent;

fective in a given order, and a timing unit to hold the brush of the selector unoperated until the UNITED STATES PATENTS lapse of a given interval of time after the closing Number Name Date of one circuit by the brush engaging its contact 16 2,353,638 Beaulieu et a1 July 18, 1944 

